


Guise of Grocery Games

by harryhanlon



Category: Polygon/McElroy Vlogs & Podcasts RPF
Genre: Christmas Fluff, F/M, Meet-Cute, it's mostly allegra being a person having a relatively nice day, pat does not show up until like near the end, this is so barely a fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-16
Updated: 2018-12-16
Packaged: 2019-09-20 02:17:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 893
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17013675
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/harryhanlon/pseuds/harryhanlon
Summary: Allegra plans to spend Christmas alone but fate has another idea





	Guise of Grocery Games

**Author's Note:**

> it's CHRISTMAS and i love these two and the song christmas wrapping which is what this is based on. for best results have a little dance to Christmas Wrapping by The Waitresses and then come back

Hearing the beep of the microwave, Allegra threw her phone on the counter and quickly pressed the button to make the harsh noise stop. Her heaping bowl of mac and cheese bubbled and popped slowly before settling and steaming invitingly. The warmth of the ceramic reminded her of the blankets waiting on the couch. She was well past feeling sadness over being alone for Christmas. After all, she was Jewish and mostly participated in the particularly festive events to spend quality time with friends and get drunk with purpose. So tonight was just her, luxuriating in the absence of her roommates, watching tv she had missed over the year, and having a full bottle of wine to herself. Speaking of which...

She put the bowl down on the coffee table and walked back into the kitchen to look in the fridge. Laying on its side on the bottom shelf was her emergency bottle, mysteriously and disappointingly almost empty. Allegra cursed the idea of her roommates (or maybe a past her), and thought of her new options. It was already late, and Christmas, so most places were definitely closed. Sighing and steeling herself for the journey back out into the cold, she threw a coat over her Dragonball t-shirt and flannel pants she wore as pajamas. The Christmas Wine Adventure was afoot.

Naming it in her mind gave the actually pretty dull trip some flavor. She listened to her Christmas playlist the entire way to keep herself in the good mood she had been cultivating all day. It was the first time she had been content with life in a long time and she refused to lose it on a wine adventure. The only all night grocery store wasn't even that bad of a place to be! Even better without the usual constant activity of any New York local establishment. The door opened for her with an unintentionally festive jingle and she nodded to the only person sitting at checkout. Just a quick look at the wine to find the best cheap bottle and then she'd be on her way.

She saw the glint of glass, turned into the aisle, and stopped dead in her tracks. No way was that him, a ton of guys have long brown hair and wear plaid; it could be anyone. She exhaled, looked at the shelf of bottles and started evaluating quality vs price, keeping in mind that it was a Christmas treat. Her mind wandered to thoughts of the boy she had thought she saw. He had been nice, nicer than the boys she usually talked to anyway. Allegra had held out hope for him for so long despite the continued cancelling of their would be dates. He always remembered their conversations about her interests and even watched one of her live streams with Thomas. Completely perfect, if only they had actually managed to meet up. 

Shaking herself slightly to focus in on the wine purchase, she spotted some white Arbor Mist and grabbed the closest one to her outstretched hand. The flavor didn't matter as all their wine tasted like candy anyway. Satisfied with her choice, her feet started moving towards the checkout before she had even turned to look where she was going. But as if the universe was punishing her for not being overly self conscious for once, she bumped right into the solid form of another shopper. Apologies bursting out before she looked up died on her tongue as they made eye contact. Noting the signature plaid shirt and and long dark hair she had explained away before, she struggled to come up with words.

“Hey Pat!” She mentally smacked herself for not saying something cooler.

“Uh, hey, Allegra!” He looked nervous. They stood in silence for a moment until Pat gestured toward the only other person in the store. “Checking out?”

Allegra nodded and they walked side by side. “It's been a while,” she started. “How've you been?”

“Good! You know. Worked all morning because capitalism was a mistake but ready to enjoy a Christmas for one. How are you?”

“The same! No work for me but on the same solo Christmas vibe. Everyone's gone home and my parents are divorced and Jewish so it's really just a regular lonely night.” She laughed with only a hint of her usual bitterness. It had been a nice day and seeing Pat was sort of... sweet? Their ships passing in the night routine had grown tired but even being close with him now reminded her of how much she really liked him. Maybe it was a sign, and there was nothing to get in the way of them now. Watching Pat struggle to pick his change up off the counter, Allegra conjured confidence and spoke.

“Would you wanna, like, since we're both alone, and you don't have to! But would you, want to, hang out? Tonight? For Christmas?” She shut her mouth before she could add any more useless words. Pat's face softened as he gave up on the change and swept it into his bag.

He smiled and said, “Yeah! Uh, I, yeah. I would, really like that.” He gestured toward her wine bottle. “You can put that in my bag if you want.”

“Thanks,” she put the bottle in his open bag and, finally unburdened, they stepped into the cold Christmas night.

**Author's Note:**

> this is the first time i've ever used a semicolon so i hope i did it right! (feel free to let me know if i didn't)


End file.
